As of this morning Uncle Sam owes me 27 hours of my life that I will never get to use for something worthwhile. And my taxes still aren't finished.
That's just this year. These hours don't even count the time I spent last month going through old paperwork determining what could go and what had to stay.
This doesn't count the time I have to spend every day documenting my mileage. Or moving around mounds of paper that might possibly have some tax significance next year.
Our tax system stinks. (If you know me well, you know the word that I wanted to use there.) We need the Fair Tax, a flat tax, or some other simple tax plan. I also wish that we had a system that made people pay their taxes instead of having them withheld. That might wake some people up to how much the government is really taking out of our pockets.
8 comments:
I'm sorry you wasted so much of your life, Jane. It does stink!
I agree that if we all had to write a check or something to pay our taxes, it would open people's eyes much more.
However, why should the government get to take anything out of your pocket, no matter how simple we made it?
How do you come to terms with the basic immorality of an entity that is allowed to take other people's property by force and yet you have to work your butt off in several businesses in order to get people to give you money voluntarily?
It's why I wanted Fred Thompson for president.
EC, he was the best of the Republican lot. Unfortunately, I don't think he really wanted it. (Which is one of the best things to be able to say about a presidential candidate.)
Oh, Deb, I'm right there with you. Our government has expanded so far beyond the bounds of reason and constitutionality and so far into theft and redistribution.
Unfortunately, our society is quickly becoming dominated by those who are net takers, and it seems like so many of those who aren't would like to be. So if they're going to take my money to give to the guy down the street who refinanced to buy a boat and now can't afford his mortgage, I at least want them to make it easier for me. :)
No good deed goes unpunished, dontchya know!
I'd much rather have our tax system than, say, Sweden. Or France. Or Germany. Or the UK. Or Japan. Or Belgium. Or Austria. Or Poland. Or....
Our tax rates are extremely low for an industrialized country.
You have a business at home, right? Could you make enough in 27+ hours to pay someone else to do your taxes for you?
Barb, yeah, provided I used that time for work, not fun. :)
Green Jello, I don't care if people in other countries pay more than us. Our tax code is atrocious. Even tax lawyers and IRS workers don't understand parts of it. The way we do taxation is wasteful, bloated, and ridiculous.
As is most of our government, and it's only getting worse.
In payroll taxes alone, my husband pays 32% taxes on his income and I pay 35% on mine. (Fed, State & Local Income Tax, SSDI & Medicare plus Self-employment tax.) When you add in property taxes, sales taxes, gas tax, excise taxes, etc., we are paying about 1/2 of our income in various taxes.
That is immoral.
I know understand your frustration!
I learned my lesson last year when it took me hours just to get all the receipts in order to do the taxes. After that I kept a running log of all expenses and just paper clipped the receipts together. When it came time to actually do our taxes, all the paperwork was already in order and all I had to do was look at the totals on my Excel spreadsheet!
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